Chapter 26: Twenty-sixth Day After Retiring, How are you doing now? ...
The driver and Hou Mingzhi didn't understand why, but they didn't say much.
The Maybach drove into the apartment. Li Cheng was unusually rude and didn't pay attention to Professor Hou beside him. He pushed open the door and hurriedly got out of the car with his long legs, and went straight to the 16th floor.
After skillfully entering the password and entering the living room, Li Cheng walked towards the study with a clear purpose.
He glanced around the study. All the furnishings were still as neat as the day he left, with no signs of being moved.
...Maybe he was overthinking it.
But as he followed his memory to open the drawer under the desk and removed the documents on top, leaving only the empty drawer bottom, Li Cheng's face still darkened.
It really is the postcard in Fu Rui’s study.
So, besides postcards?
As Hou Mingzhi walked upstairs on crutches and into the house, he saw Li Cheng, with a grim expression, taking down the films from the niche in Fu Rui's cabinet one by one, watching and counting them, and then putting them back. He frowned and asked in confusion, "What's going on?"
Li Cheng said succinctly: "Those signed postcards in Fu Rui's study appeared in the hands of fans."
Hou Mingzhi was stunned: "How is it possible!"
But then he realized - how could it be impossible?
Fu Rui was a renowned figure during his lifetime, a figure who could easily be described as "famous throughout the world." Over the years, he encountered both true fans and stalkers. Hou Mingzhi still vividly remembers one evening five years ago, when Fu Rui returned to his hotel after work and was about to shower, he opened the bathroom door and spotted a stalker hiding in the bathtub.
According to the illegitimate child, she knew Fu Rui's room number beforehand and booked a room next door. She watched for several days, finally waiting until Fu Rui's window was not closed tightly. She then climbed over from the balcony, pushed open the window, and entered the bathroom, waiting for Fu Rui to return.
This incident scared Fu Rui and his team to death.
God knows that's the 23rd floor! How dare she do that!
This incident couldn't be concealed. The film set was teeming with paparazzi and photographers, and the noise and commotion surrounding Fu Rui's incident naturally escaped their notice. The incident later became a hot topic, prompting netizens and fans to boycott the "private life" phenomenon. Fu Rui was also given more bodyguards, and these "terrorist incidents" gradually decreased.
Li Cheng put the rare film signed by Fu Rui back to its original place and turned to Hou Mingzhi, saying, "A year ago, a thief came to our house and broke the lock. But he was unlucky. He was caught by the cleaning lady just as he was about to leave."
Fortunately, the cleaning lady who came was a very strong lady. She was also very reckless. She picked up the mop and stabbed the thief in the face.
When Li Cheng received the news and arrived with the police, the thief was pinned to the ground by the aunt with bruises all over his face, crying bitterly.
"It looks like the lock wasn't picked this time," Hou Mingzhi recalled, recalling the quick glance he'd gotten upon entering. He turned back to confirm. His glaucoma had only just been cured, and everything was crystal clear. Sure enough, the lock he'd seen was intact, showing no signs of malicious tampering.
“How many people know the password you set?”
"Although the door lock has been changed, the password is still the one set by Fu Rui before he died." Li Cheng said, "Besides Fu Rui himself, the only ones who know the password are me and A Liu."
Could it be Fu Liu?
Hou Mingzhi asked again: "Besides the postcard, what else was lost?"
Li Cheng: "It seems that nothing else is lost for now. I'll call A Liu to confirm first."
Li Cheng walked to the window to call Fu Liu, while Hou Mingzhi stood aside with his hands behind his back, looking up at the various photos on the cabinet, with a hint of nostalgia in his eyes.
By the window.
When Fu Liu received Li Cheng's call, he was enjoying the breeze in the courtyard of their small Western-style building with his grandmother. His grandmother was lying on a recliner, while Fu Liu bent over to pick up locust flowers from the ground, planning to make steamed locust flower rice for dinner. When he and his brother were little, steamed locust flower rice was his favorite. Two years ago, when his brother was still alive, he and his grandmother would send the flowers from their home to Beijing North.
When the phone rang, Fu Liu subconsciously turned his head to look at his grandmother who was sleeping soundly. He turned off the ringtone, pulled up the small blanket for his grandmother, and then walked out to the yard to answer the phone.
"Brother Licheng?"
Fu Liu's contact with Li Cheng increased after his brother Fu Rui's death. Although Fu Rui had introduced Li Cheng to him when he visited him in Beijing, Li Cheng's personality was a bit cold, and Fu Liu felt intimidated every time he saw him. He was used to being around Fu Rui, calling her brother all the time, so he didn't have much contact with Li Cheng.
Until Fu Rui died.
After receiving the tragic news, he and his grandmother were completely lost in thought. They were completely distracted, not to mention dealing with the issues left over from the accident and Fu Rui's funeral. Even breathing was difficult. Li Cheng, seeing their dazed state, took the initiative to take over all the work.
After sending Fu Rui to the funeral home, Fu Liu witnessed his once tall and majestic brother being pushed into the incinerator. When it came out, it was just a handful of ashes. He finally couldn't hold back his emotions and burst into tears.
It was then that Li Cheng put his arm around his shoulders and told him, "Your brother doesn't want to see you cry."
From that day on, Li Cheng became Fu Liu's brother.
Fu Liu remembered that Li Cheng had called him around the anniversary of his brother's death last year. Thinking it was about something related, he asked directly, "Brother Li Cheng, are you at the cemetery?"
"No." Li Cheng replied, "I went there with Professor Hou yesterday."
Fu Liu uttered an 'ah' sound, scratched his head and said, "Why didn't you tell me? Grandma said before that she would take you to dinner when you came over."
"Thank grandma for me, but I'm a little busy right now. I'll come back when I'm done."
Fu Liu was not surprised to hear this. Li Cheng was a director, similar to his brother, who was usually so busy that he was rarely seen.
"Oh, that's fine too. When you're free, call me in advance and I'll tell grandma." Fu Liu said, glancing towards the yard, and suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Brother Licheng, grandma and I went to the cemetery to see my brother a few days ago. He seems to be there."
……What?
Li Cheng was stunned for a few seconds by his sudden words, and for a moment he even forgot the purpose of making this call.
He frowned and his voice became deeper: "What do you mean?"
Fu Liu recounted the scene at the cemetery that day. He felt a bit delirious after he finished speaking, and rubbed his nose sheepishly. But he said confidently the next second, "Really? I'm not kidding. After I told my brother the good news that I got into the police academy, I heard him say, 'Ah Liu, you're great!' It was clearly my brother's voice, and he even touched my head!"
Fu Liu's speech speed increased a lot because he was eager to prove that what he said was true: "Grandma also felt it. My brother stood beside her with his arm around her shoulders as usual."
Li Cheng didn't know what to say for a moment.
But the frown between his brows was getting tighter and tighter.
He was a staunch materialist, and when he heard Fu Liu's "story", his first reaction was that Fu Liu might be ill, suffering from delusional disorder or something like that.
But Fu Liu was still recalling the past with him seriously: "My brother stayed with us that morning. He responded to every word I said. I asked him how he was doing after leaving us. He said that things were not going well before, but he met a very good person recently who rescued him from the abyss. He also told me and grandma not to worry about him. And I dreamed about him last night. You don't know, this is the first time I've dreamed of him in the past two years."
Li Cheng still felt that Fu Liu's condition was somewhat serious, but after hearing the last words, his thoughts drifted away.
In fact, it was not just Fu Liu, but also Grandma Wang and he. In those long two years, they had never dreamed of Fu Rui.
Fu Liu had asked him countless times with a worried look on his face whether Fu Rui had any opinions about them, otherwise why didn't he come to see them?
Li Cheng couldn't answer this question.
And now, Li Cheng no longer needs to rack his brains to find excuses, because Fu Liu has already seen his favorite brother in his dream.
Li Cheng stared out the window at the lush greenery and remained silent for a long time. He didn't know what to say. His mind told him that all this was Fu Liu's imagination, but his emotions told him he shouldn't burst Fu Liu's fantasy.
That's too cold and heartless.
Fu Liu obviously didn't notice Li Cheng's thoughts. After talking for a long time, he finally remembered that it was Li Cheng who called him. He quickly said, "I haven't asked Brother Li Cheng yet. Is there something you want to talk about?"
Li Cheng came back to his senses at the sound of his voice.
He hummed and said, "I wanted to ask if you've been to Jingbei recently and whether you've been to your brother's apartment."
Fu Liu shook his head: "No, I came to Jingbei with you last time."
Li Cheng: "Yeah, I understand."
Fu Liu heard that he didn't seem to want to explain why he suddenly called to ask this question. He felt strange, but he didn't hold it in. Instead, he asked directly: "Is there something wrong with my brother's apartment?"
"Something's missing, and I'm not sure what happened yet. I'll check the surveillance footage and let you know when the results are in."
"Okay, thank you for your hard work, Brother Licheng."
After the phone call was hung up, Li Cheng stood there without moving. He lowered his head slightly, stroking the screen of his phone with his fingertips, and did not speak for a long time.
Hou Mingzhi came forward and asked, "What's wrong?"
Li Cheng repeated the conversation he had just had with Fu Liu, and then continued, "A Liu is young. He lost his parents when he was young, and two years ago he lost his brother who he relied on. This is a huge blow. I think I should find a psychologist for him to pay attention to his mental health."
"Do you think...A Liu is suffering from delusional disorder?"
"Isn't it?"
Hou Mingzhi sat back on the sofa, his back slightly bent from the crutches he supported himself on. His gaze fell through the glass onto the distant horizon, his sight unfocused. After a long pause, he slowly said, "Actually, I've experienced the same state as Ah Liu. The night my wife died, I was sitting alone beside her coffin. I felt a gentle breeze touch my face, telling me that I couldn't stay with her anymore, and that I should take care of myself and stop smoking and drinking."
"I don't know how to describe that feeling, but... it was so real, so real that I thought she was right next to me. The next night, I still felt it. On the third day, I took her to the funeral home. When I was walking back with the urn, I heard her say goodbye to me. But when I turned around, I saw nothing."
“Sometimes I wonder if there are some secrets in this world.”
Hou Mingzhi smiled and looked back at Li Cheng. "Your concerns are not without reason. It's okay to take Ah Liu for a checkup, but if the results are positive, don't dwell on it. Sometimes, even imaginary thoughts can bring great strength to people, and Ah Liu might need that."
Li Cheng nodded: "I understand what you mean, don't worry."
Li Cheng did not delay and contacted the fans who posted the photos on Weibo.
When fans saw him appear in private messages under his officially verified director account, they immediately explained the full origin of the postcards: "The postcards were sent to us by a girl in the fan group. She said it was from a friend of Fu Ge, and asked her to distribute it to Fu Ge's fans." It was... four days ago in the afternoon. She excitedly announced the news in the group, then asked for everyone's address to mail it to me. I just picked it up from the courier.
Four days ago.
Wasn’t that the time when he brought the cleaning lady to your house?
But it couldn't be the cleaning lady. Although the condition of entering the house was met as long as the door lock was not damaged, this cleaning lady had been here many times, her character was guaranteed, and she was a very nice person.
Furthermore...
Another point in the fan's statement caught Li Cheng's attention: the fan said the postcards were given to them for free. If they were a stalker, they wouldn't be so generous and would just keep them as a souvenir. And thieves, let alone thieves, steal for money, right?
With such doubts in mind, Li Cheng opened the monitoring software on his mobile phone.
To prevent the possibility of illicit activities within the apartment, a small camera was installed in every room. However, after Fu Rui's death and the burglars, Li Cheng installed a piece of software, changed the user identity to his own, and modified the surveillance settings to capture portraits.
The software will only retain the video that captures the movement of human figures. This can reduce a lot of meaningless images, and the freed up memory can also retain more videos, making them easier to search.
But what's strange is that when he looked through nearly a month's worth of videos based on the information provided by fans, apart from himself and the cleaning lady who occasionally appeared, there was no third person in sight.
how so?
"Are you sure those postcards were supposed to be in the drawer?"
Hou Mingzhi rubbed his aching forehead and asked Li Cheng.
But no matter how much he asked, he still had great confidence in Li Cheng's memory. After all, Li Cheng was well-known in the circle for his photographic memory.
Li Cheng said confidently: "Yes, I saw it when I came here two months ago."
Hou Mingzhi: “Let’s look at the video from that day.”
So the surveillance video went back from a month ago to two months ago, and sure enough, that night Li Cheng came to the apartment, walked into the study, and opened the drawer. He was originally looking for a document, so after picking up the document, the postcards naturally appeared in his field of vision.
Hou Mingzhi: "..."
For some reason, things suddenly became weird and eerie.
The old professor was silent for a long time, then asked Li Cheng, "You didn't just suddenly come up with the idea of making a horror movie and then designed this plot to make fun of me. Let's see if this plot works, right?"
Li Cheng: "...I'm not that boring."
And he wouldn't joke about Fu Rui's affairs.
Hou Mingzhi sighed, rubbed his face vigorously with both hands, and muttered, "But the situation now is no different from a horror movie."
In silence, Li Cheng said to Hou Mingzhi: "I'll ask the driver to take you back to rest first."
Hou Mingzhi looked at him: "What about you?"
Li Cheng: "I'll ask the property management to check the surveillance footage to see if there's something wrong with this camera."
—
Li Cheng returned to his apartment around three in the morning. He pushed open the door, didn't turn on the lights, and simply leaned back on the sofa, closing his eyes to rest. The soreness of his eyes, the fatigue of the journey, and the strangeness of the postcard had left him exhausted. Without noticing, his breathing became increasingly steady, and he fell into a dream.
He looked around and found the surrounding environment extremely familiar. It was clearly the study in Fu Rui's apartment.
But unlike reality, when he bent down to open the drawer, a figure stepped out from behind him, followed by a somewhat helpless voice: "When I asked Boss Sang to take the signed postcard away, I really didn't expect you to be so alert and actually remember what was under this drawer."
The familiar voice, as clear and gentle as ever, made Li Cheng suddenly freeze.
He didn't dare look back, but the person behind him had already walked to his side, and then walked from his side to his front.
Suddenly, a familiar face with a smile on its face fell into my sight.
Fu Rui saw his good friend again, curved his eyes, and said, "Long time no see, Li Cheng."
Li Cheng's gaze was deep, fixed on his face, and he pursed his lips for a long time without saying a word, until Fu Rui raised her hand and waved it in front of him. He seemed to suddenly react, took a step back, and asked uncertainly, "Fu Rui?"
Fu Rui nodded: "It's me."
He said helplessly, "I know you don't believe in ghosts and gods, so I originally just wanted to sneak into your dreams and take a quick look at you to make sure you were doing well. But now something unexpected has happened, so I decided to come to you to make things clear. I told Boss Sang to give those postcards to her fans. They weren't stolen, so don't worry about it."
Fu Rui only found out about this near dusk.
After receiving Li Cheng’s private message, the fan went to find Xing Xiwei, and Xing Xiwei also mentioned it to Sang Qiqi.
Therefore, when Sang Qiqi found him and told him that Li Cheng was contacting fans, he knew - something was wrong.
Li Cheng didn't know the ins and outs of the matter, so he might overthink it.
So he thought he'd use his dream to find Li Cheng and explain things, but he didn't expect Li Cheng to stay awake until late at night... He was now in the underworld, no longer as free as before. He couldn't sit by Liu and Grandma's side in broad daylight and talk to them like he had that day at the cemetery. He waited for a long time, until Old Lady Li couldn't hold it in any longer and fell asleep, and then he waited until Li Cheng returned to the apartment, and then he found his opportunity.
"Boss Sang? Who is that?"
"Sang Qiqi, you should have heard of her name."
Li Cheng: "..."
Like thunder in one's ears.
If he remembered correctly, after Sang Qiqi reported Qiao Tianyi's assistant for murder and hiding a body, she had apparently opened a funeral service in northern Beijing. This incident had even become a trending topic. He had even come across a related topic a few days ago.
But Li Cheng never expected that he would hear Sang Qiqi's name again in his dream, from Fu Rui's mouth.
Thinking of Sang Qiqi's profession and then relating it to this dream, Li Cheng's eyebrows twitched unconsciously, and he vaguely felt that his worldview seemed to be about to be reset.
Seeing Li Cheng's expression, Fu Rui knew what he was thinking. He smiled, walked to the sofa opposite and sat down, saying, "Don't misunderstand Boss Sang because of the comments on the Internet. Boss Sang is a very good person. If it weren't for her, I would still be imprisoned in the jade pendant by Qiao Tianyi."
"Qiao Tianyi?"
Is Fu Rui still related to Qiao Tianyi?
Li Cheng asked calmly, "What's going on?"
At this point, Fu Rui no longer hid the secret from him. She briefly summarized how she had been in a car accident, had her soul captured by a Taoist priest, was imprisoned by Qiao Tianyi and forced him to possess her to act, won the Golden Crane Award for Best Actor, and was finally rescued by Sang Qiqi.
"That's pretty much it."
Fu Rui's expression was very calm when he recounted these past events. He no longer looked like the pain and despair he had felt when he was imprisoned in the jade pendant by Qiao Tianyi. However, those few words still made Li Cheng feel suffocated.
His eyes were fixed on Fu Rui, and he said nothing, but he was extremely horrified in his heart.
Qiao Tianyi, imprisonment, his acting is very similar to Fu Rui's, A Liu said that Fu Rui said in person that he had a hard time before, but recently he met a very good person who rescued him from the abyss, Sang Qiqi...
All of this can actually be connected completely!
The worldview was shattered and then reshaped.
There was only one thought left in his mind: No wonder Qiao Tianyi's acting state and the little movements when expressing various emotions were exactly the same as Fu Rui's!
So that's how it is.
Li Cheng's arms hanging by his side trembled slightly. Thinking of Qiao Tianyi's face holding a wine glass at the celebration banquet, seemingly humble but actually arrogant, he felt an unquenchable anger rising in his heart.
Just two days ago, he heard insiders in the circle jokingly say that Qiao Tianyi had no idea what was wrong with him and fainted in the airport corridor in the middle of the night. When he woke up, he called the police and said that Sang Qiqi had beaten him and stolen the jade pendant.
It turned out that Qiao Tianyi was not having a seizure, but Sang Qiqi really beat someone up.
However, Sang Qiqi found a way to cover up the airport surveillance, just like when she brought Fu Rui to the apartment, she also covered up the traces of her presence.
All the weirdness had a perfect explanation at this moment.
But the truth of the matter was completely contrary to the education he had received before.
Li Cheng was silent for a long time, looking at Fu Rui quietly. He had already known the answer from A Liu, but he still asked again: "How are you doing now?"
Fu Rui smiled: "Of course."
Li Cheng pursed his lips and said softly, "That's good."
—
The next morning.
Just as the sky was getting light, a quiet figure appeared at the door of Sang Qiqi Funeral Home.
Around seven o'clock, Sang Qiqi came to open the door, eating a bun and drinking soy milk. Her eyes swept around the corner, and her beautiful, bright almond-shaped eyes met Li Cheng's bloodshot eyes. She raised her eyebrows slightly, finished the bun in one bite, and as she bent down to open the shutter door, she casually greeted, "Did Fu Rui look for you?"
A simple sentence, just six words, swept away all the doubts that Li Cheng had after he woke up.
The dream is real, Fu Rui in the dream is real, and everything Fu Rui said in the dream is also real.
Then, all the torture that Fu Rui suffered from Qiao Tianyi was true.
He lowered his eyelids and laughed inexplicably: "Qiao, Tian, Yi."
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